Today, I have invited Charlene Newcomb to visit with me. We originally met over Facebook, but came face to face with each other at the latest HNS Conference which, I believe, has reinforced our friendship. Once you’ve hugged someone for real, they’re sort of more permanently engraved in your heart. Anyway, one of the things
Of sodomists, sex and sin the Middle Ages – not as clearcut as one thinks Read More »
Today I thought we’d spend some time with James II. I am rather fascinated by this gentleman whose character must have been markedly affected by the terrifying events of his adolescence. Being somewhat of an underdog fan, I have also always felt sorry for James, so brutally ousted from his crown by none other than
Whenever people talk about ”those handsome Stuarts”, chances are they’ll come dragging with oh, so dashing Prince Rupert, nephew to king Charles I, valiant royalist commander, owner of a famous dog, and yes – he was good-looking as can be seen in the attached portrait. So were his brothers – especially Maurice, but a friend
Those gorgeous Stuart men – meet some 17th century hotties Read More »
One of the things that I find very endearing about Charles II, is that he was very much a family man. Not, I hasten to add, family man in the sense that he liked sitting at home with the wife and have tea (our Charles was quite the bounder, more than fond of an intense
I have an acquaintance who some years ago decided to dig into her ancestry. As most parishes in this neck of the woods have kept detailed tabs on people since the early 17th century, it isn’t that difficult to construct a family tree, and most of these old records are available on line – a
A restless Swedish skeleton – of events in the aftermath of WW II Read More »
Let’s face it: for women, things went decidely downhill with the advent of Christianity. Take, for example, my northern corner of the world. Viking women had always had a strong position in society, in many ways considered equal to any man. A woman could raise rune stones – she could build bridges, run farms, inherit
Queen for a day – of bridecrowns in gold and myrtle Read More »
If one is going to be financially successful as a writer of historical fiction, one should write about the Tudors. Or about Rome – or medieval England. Maybe even Regency (especially when thinking Romance). Somehow, the 17th century exists in a bubble of obscurity, trapped between the great drama of the 16th century and the
Being named Carlos was not really a good thing if you were a Spanish Hapsburg – well with the exception of the first, namely Carlos I of Spain. But this Carlos was not really Spanish. Yes, his mother was Spanish – the woman known to history as Juana la Loca or Joanna the Mad –
What is in a name? Of Don Carlos, in various incarnations Read More »
Our bed in the country house is 20 centimetres narrower than our bed in town. (That’s like 8 inches for those of you as yet uncomfortable with the metric system) Not much to write home about, one would think, but let me tell you it makes a huge difference to how we sleep. In the
It strikes me, sometimes, just how short the lives of some historical people were. Take, for example, Margaret of Austria. Who? Exactly: who? Well, for one thing she was the mother of Philip IV of Spain. She was also her son’s third cousin – on multiple sides. When her son went on to marry his
My dearest cousin and husband – of a Spanish queen Read More »